I spend quite a bit of time on Jalopnik. It can be full of blow-hard, BMW-hating hosers but there are enough decent writers and commenters to make the place interesting.

A couple of weeks back a reader sent a request from his 4-year old nephew for a very particular BMW:

Quote:

Last night my 4-year-old Jalop of a nephew Eli and I had a serious conversation about the car he wants to build. I know there are a lot of talented artists out there in the Jalopnik commentariat, and I would like to ask them all if they would consider drawing up their "Artist's Conception" of the car according to the carefully considered specifications he came up with. I would just love to give him a tangible expression of what his awesome imagination came up with. If anyone is particularly ambitious, I have access to a 3D printer so if someone puts together a solid .stl I could even print it for him (and a copy for whoever puts it together).

So here are the specs he came up with, with surprisingly little input from myself:

- It's a BMW
- 42 wheels, and of course 42-wheel drive
- It is powered by 19 Porsche engines, each producing 459 horsepower. I think they will need to be water-cooled turbocharged boxer 6s. This was entirely his own idea, but I commended his choice of using boxer engines for a multi-engine setup since they will stack so well.
- The engines are all linked to a single transmission. He didn't specify, but I think viscous couplings for the inputs would probably be a good idea.
- Power output is subdivided to all those wheels via a series of limited-slip differentials
- There are seats and three steering wheels, and all three can drive the car at the same time.
- The trunk is full of toys and you can play in it

The model name that I came up with is "4219ELi" - 42 wheels, 19 engines, an Extra Long wheelbase, and fuel injection.

The readers made some valiant (and not so valiant) efforts to visualize this. A few days back, things got very interesting when BMW actually picked up on this 'challenge' and threw their hat into the ring.

What you see above is the result of their efforts. I think it looks damn fine and I'm sure they've got a lifelong fan now in Eli.

Good job BMW. I don't always like everything you do, but this day, you are alright.

Here were some of the other entries by readers:

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The 1 series M is the most badass, coolest, sickest BMW to debut since the 1988 M3. The E30 M3 finally has a successor. Please welcome the stupidly fast, wickedly tempered, awkwardly named, possibly perfect little son of a benchmark - Automobile Magazine, August 2011

I'm looking at this, and obviously it's just a render but I fear brand dilution. BMW keeps making heavier and heavier cars, and now they're even sourcing engines from Porsche? Although the 42 wheels will help put the power down, I don't know how they'll compensate for the inevitable understeer.

Furthermore, the toy chest cooling intake it's just the nail in the coffin on a hideous post-Bangle design philosophy.